MORE than a million people, including thousands of holidaymakers from the North-East and North Yorkshire, were told to flee last night as the worst hurricane for a generation bore down on Florida.

Hurricane Charley - which officials upgraded yesterday to a Category Four storm, packing winds of up to 145mph - was due to hit the south-eastern seaboard of the US with massive force.

It was then expected to turn inland, striking at the heart of the top British tourist destination of Orlando - home to the world-famous Disney World and Universal theme parks.

Experts said Charley's storm surge could devastate the heavily populated Gulf Coast region, with waterfront apartment towers and vulnerable mobile homes in danger.

It was estimated the number of people evacuated from coastal and low-lying areas could exceed the two million mark.

State meteorologist Ben Nelson said last night that the hurricane was rapidly intensifying, forecasting that it could hit Orlando by 5am UK time today.

The area is expected to get hurricane gusts, heavy rain, with the possibility of tornadoes and power blackouts.

The Association of British Travel Agents spokesman Sean Tipton estimated that 4,000 people from the North-East and North Yorkshire are on holiday in Florida. More than 100,000 Britons are thought to be in the state.

They were advised to stay indoors last night as major tourist attractions such as Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World closed.

Mr Tipton urged relatives in Britain not to panic.

He said: "People who are on package holidays will have already been moved out of the danger zone to part of Florida where they are safe.

"It is more of an issue for those travelling independently. A lot of people do fly-drive holidays, so the tour operators probably don't know where those people are.

"They are the ones we are a bit more concerned about."

One family from the region were last night battening the windows of their rented villa in Kissimmee - close to the Disney resort parks - after hearing warnings that the hurricane would turn inland.

Eileen Smith, on holiday with husband Andrew, a former editor of The Northern Echo, and 15-year-old daughter Claire, said: "They are saying here that they have had nothing like this since the 1960s. They have evacuated people from the coast to the Orlando area - but now they are saying it is heading here.

"It is thundering now, very dull and very hot.

"People round here are taking things very seriously, stocking up on emergency supplies."

Mrs Smith, of Catterick Village, North Yorkshire, who works for The Northern Echo's sister paper The Advertiser, said: "We are now just sitting tight and waiting to see what happens."

The storm has already caused extensive damage in Cuba, battering Havana with high winds and driving rain.

There were no reports of fatalities or major damage, but authorities there reported roofs ripped off and trees uprooted.

Darlington councillor Bill Dixon, on holiday the island, said: "I don't think there have been any fatalities, just massive amounts of rain, and some localised floods.

"Last night, I think the wind was gusting up to 80 to 90mph, but the hotels here seem to have been built to withstand that."

Charley's centre was expected to pass west of the Florida Keys last night before hitting the Tampa Bay area, unleashing heavy rain and possibly spawning tornadoes.

Governor Jeb Bush - the brother of President George Bush - who declared an emergency across the state, said: "This is a scary, scary thing."

Hugh Cobb, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Centre, said that about 6.5 million of Florida's 17 million residents were in Charley's projected path.

A tidal surge could reach up to 16ft in the Tampa area if Charley hits at 120mph.

The hurricane bore down after tropical storm Bonnie blew ashore yesterday on the Florida Panhandle with winds estimated at 50mph.

Hurricane trackers have also reported another depression that could soon turn into a tropical storm south-east of Cuba - about five days away from Florida